William v



W v MQKENZIE Apparatus'fo'r Refining Gamphor.

7 Patented Jan. 20,1880..

Z I|lII--- --Illll WITNESSES INVENTDR:

TTORNEYS.

UNITED 4 STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM V. MCKENZIE, OF RAHWAY, NEW JERSEY.

APPARATUS FOR REFINING CAMPl-IOR.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 223,747, dated January 20, 1880.

I Application filed August 25,1879.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM V. MCKEN- ZIE, of Rahway, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Apparatus for Refining Oamphor, of which the following is a specification.

Figure 1 represents a sectional elevation of the evaporating and sublimin g pan used in the process. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same with parts cut away to give a view of the interior.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

The object of this invention is to provide a more economical method of refining camphor.

In the drawings, A represents the metallic pan, which may be of any desired shape, provided with a horizontal diaphragm, B, that completely divides the pan into an upper and a lower chamber, 0 and D; respectively.

E is the fiat cover, set within the flanged rim F of the pan, and provided with the central aperture, a, for the escape of the moisture arising from the camphor during the refining process.

b b are the handles of the cover.

The steam-pipe c and wastepipe d are entered, respectively, into the side and bottom 7 of the lower chamber.

The method of using my improved apparatus consists in placing the crude camphor upon the diaphragm B and introducing steam of proper temperature from a boilerinto the chamber D to cause the camphor to evaporate or sublime.

The moisture or a portion of it contained in the crude material passes off as steam through the aperture a, while the camphor sublimes or evaporates and collects upon the under side of the cover E in a solid cake that may readily be removed by slightly heating the cover. The impurities of the camphor remain behind on the diaphragm.

With one boiler and one fire I can operate scores of camphor-pans, placed at a distance from the boiler in any convenient location, while by the usualmethod a number of fires valves in the steam-pipes; and this facility with which the temperature can be regulated also gives the process great advantages over the usual one.

I make use, with the above-described volatizer, of a condenser, G, made of glass, porcelain, or other non-oxidizable material, which is set 011 the cover E just over its central aperture, a. The steam and volatilized camphor escaping through the said aperture come in contact with the interior surface of this device, and most of it quickly condenses, the camphor adhering to the surface and the condensed steam collecting in the bottom.

The condenser is conveniently formed of a covered cylinder, 9, set about a funnel or hollow cone, h, the point of the cone projecting upward, so that the condensed steamcannot run back into the vessel below.

I am aware that it is not new to use a vessel for sublimin g camphor or benzoic acid consisting of chambers for the admission of steam and compartments for the substances to be operated upon, having a flat cover forming a water-seal and operating as a condenser; but I am not aware that any one has heretofore employed a condenser like mine with such avessel; hence What I claim as new and of my invention 1s The combination, with the rim-flanged pan A B C D, of the cover E, provided with the water-sealed joint, having the hole a, the cone h, and the condenser G, as and for the purpose specified.

WILLIAM v. MCKENZIE.

Witnesses I. I. 8930mm, 0. Snnewron. 

